Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy announced today that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Albany County is now at 3,310 to date, an increase of 7 new positive cases since yesterday. Please note that our overall case count will fluctuate as the CommCare records for college students are transferred to the county in which they are isolating for their daily monitoring and then transferred back to Albany County for the final case count.

Additionally, the number of people under mandatory quarantine has decreased to 1,063 from 1,073. The five-day average for new daily positives decreased to 16.6 from 19.6. There are now 101 active cases in the county, down from 105 yesterday. So far, 14,641 people have completed quarantine. Of those who completed quarantine, 3,209 of them had tested positive and recovered. Among the new positive cases, three had close contact with positive cases, one is a healthcare worker or a resident of a congregate setting and three did not have a clear source of infection at this time. 

There was one new hospitalization to report overnight, and the number of county residents currently hospitalized due to the virus decreased from 12 to 10. There are two patients in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). The hospitalization rate has decreased to 0.30% from 0.36%. Sadly, two more county residents passed away due to the virus – a woman in her 70’s who was a resident of a congregate setting, and a man in his 80’s who was not a resident of a congregate setting. Both had multiple preexisting underlying health conditions. The new deaths bring the county’s death toll to138 since the outbreak began.

“I couldn’t be more proud to have Albany County partner with the University at Albany and The College of Saint Rose to bring testing directly to the Pine Hills neighborhood the past week. Of the 218 COVID tests given to students, none of them came back positive. I want to thank Presidents Havidán Rodríguez and Marcia J. White for their leadership, the local hospitals, the NYS Health Department and our healthcare workers for supporting the effort and the students for their commitment doing the right thing and controlling the spread of the virus,” said County Executive McCoy. 

“However, as I’ve said before, just because our higher education institutions are no longer the main source of our positive cases, doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet, as we can see by the latest two deaths since just over a week ago. My condolences go out to the families of these residents and the families of the 136 other residents who have suffered losses over the last nearly seven months.”

Below is the remainder of this week’s schedule for Albany County’s walk-up COVID-19 mobile testing sites, a collaboration with the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center. Testing is for those experiencing symptoms, essential workers and those returning to work by appointment only, after being screened over the phone. To be screened, please call (518) 465-4771.

Locations & Dates for the Week of October 19
The full updated schedule can be found at the Albany County website here.

Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center - 920 Lark Drive, Albany
• Friday – 8:30am – 11:30am 

Watervliet Health Center, 1804 Second Ave, Watervliet (Mobile Site)
• Wednesday – 8:30am – 11:30am 

Community-wide testing continues on the University at Albany (SUNY) campus by appointment only for those with or without symptoms. Appointments may be made by calling the NYS hotline at 888-364-3065 or by visiting the State Department of Health website.

County Executive McCoy continues to highlight the testing site in Albany County at Priority 1 Urgent Care, which also provides antibody testing, located in Hamilton Square at 2080 Western Avenue in Guilderland. Testing will be reimbursed by an individual’s health insurance, and will be done by appointments only after patients come in to be screened for expanded CDC symptoms. Priority 1 is also now doing antibody testing. To schedule an appointment, you can call (518) 867-8040.

The County Executive also encourages those who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to register for the drive-thru community testing site at Rite Aid, 1863 Central Avenue in Colonie. Testing is free for those who are eligible based on CDC guidelines and are at least 18 years old. It’s available between 9am and 5pm, seven days a week by appointment only. Registration is now available at www.riteaid.com. Tests will be conducted from within an individual’s car with self-swab nasal tests and with the help of a pharmacist.

Walgreens is now operating a testing facility at the 41 Holland Avenue location utilizing a self-collection model. Residents will be able to remain in their cars while assisted by pharmacists when necessary. Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, individuals who are 18 years or older may be tested once completing an eligibility assessment at the Walgreens website or at their app. Patients can get their results from PWNHealth.

Price Chopper/Market 32 is piloting a free COVID-19 test program at three of its New York drive-thru pharmacies. Customers can register for a test at www.DoINeedACovid19Test.com and they will get a voucher to go to one of the testing sites on a specific date. Local participating pharmacies are in Latham, Clifton Park and Johnstown. Testing is on Tuesdays from 7am- 9am. Customers won’t leave their car and will administer the test themselves with guidance from a pharmacist. Results will be provided by eTrueNorth within three to five business days. This is in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

CVS is offering drive-thru testing at select stores. You must register online for an appointment. To do that and find locations offering the drive-thru testing, go to the CVS website.

For the all latest data on COVID testing and results, you can refer to the County COVID-19 Data Dashboard, as well as the New York State Department of Health COVID-19 Tracker.

For those experiencing stress, anxiety or depression during the ongoing pandemic and gun violence in the City of Albany, the Albany County Mental Health Support Line is available seven days a week, from 8am to 5pm at (518) 269-6634. Anyone experiencing a psychiatric emergency should still call the Albany County Mobile Crisis Team at (518) 549–6500. The 24-hour sexual assault hotline number is (518) 447-7716.